Teesta erosion: A village in Lalmonirhat erased from the map

Even two days before the Eid-ul-Azha, Singimari village existed in the shoal area of Teesta River, where 385 families resided.

Now, the village is no more, as the river devoured the entire village in a matter of days, erasing it from the map.

The village, under Mahishkhocha union under Lalmonirhat's Aditmari upazila, had arable land. There were plantations, orchards, and many trees. All of these are now merely memories for the villagers, who keep wondering how life could change in a flash just like that.

Only boats now float in the water where the village used to be. As far as one's eyes can see, there is only water. 

"Even two days before Eid, we were all happy. Everyone in the village was smiling. On the day before Eid, everything began to change as the river erosion took a terrible turn since the dawn of July 31," said Anowar Hossain (70), a farmer who used to live in the Singimari village.

"The river devoured the homesteads, arable land, orchards and establishments one after another. The villagers moved further with their families as Teesta continued to erode the land. By August 7, the entire village went into the river," he said.

"We have lost everything we had -- our homes and farmlands -- and have taken shelter on government roads and others' land," Anowar added.

"On Eid day, the erosion was so severe that we did not have time to breathe. We were busy moving our families, houses and belongings to safety all day long. Even then, at the end of the day, we could not save much," said Akbar Ali (48).

"There is no sign of our village anymore. The whole village has gone into the river. There is no direction to the village now, just water and water," he said.

"We used to live a decent life with our families, now the erosion of the Teesta made us poor and hapless," Akbar added.

In just a matter of days, Singimari village under Lalmonirhat’s Aditmari upazila was erased from the map due to erosion of Teesta River. The photo taken on August 15, 2020. Photo: S Dilip Roy

Belal Hossain, a college student from the village, could hardly believe that the village where they used to live went into the river right in front of their eyes -- the entire village!

"I never thought the Teesta would take away our village like this. Singimari will no longer be written as our address as it is wiped off the map. Now we have become residents of another village," he said.

Badiar Rahman (65), another farmer from the village, said his house survived even after the entire village was evacuated, but later his home also went into the river on the afternoon on August 14 as the last remaining piece of the village. 

"I have now taken shelter at a relative's house in a neighbouring village with my family," Badiar said.

Mosaddek Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Mahishkhocha union, told The Daily Star that Singimari village has been completely erased from the union's map due to the Teesta River erosion.

"The people from this village have lost their homes and cultivable land and are now landless. They have taken shelter on government roads and in neighbouring villages on other people's land," he said.

"Although they lost everything, yet they do not want relief. They are just demanding a dam on the left bank of Teesta River. If this dam is built, many of their resources could be saved," Chairman Mosaddek added.

"The erosion was so severe that we could hardly manage to stop it by dumping geo-bags. The government has a plan to build a dam on the left bank of the river and steps would be taken to implement it at any time," said Mizanur Rahman, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Lalmonirhat.